This invention generally relates to rail-draft apparatus and deals more particularly with improved apparatus for adapting tractor-like draft vehicles for coupling with ordinary railroad cars to allow movement of the latter along the rails.
The present invention represents certain important improvements in the apparatus disclosed in my above-mentioned, prior, co-pending application, wherein novel means were disclosed for intercoupling a tractor or the like with an ordinary railroad car to allow movement of a number of the latter along a set of rails, and constructional details of certain portions of the present invention may be more fully understood by reference to my mentioned prior application. In the arrangement disclosed in my prior application, a tractor or like vehicle was fitted with specially configured, retractable rail wheel mechanisms at the front and rear thereof which were operative to selectively lower rail wheels into engagement with the rails for supporting the tractor on the rails. Although these rail wheel mechanisms were entirely suitable for the intended purpose, such mechanisms are rather structurally complex and are relatively expensive. The present invention not only eliminates the need for these specially configured rail wheel mechanisms but also eliminates the need for one set of rail wheels at the rear of the tractor, while at the same time providing rail wheel mounting of the tractor in a manner to improve the vehicle's weight distribution and operating stability.
According to the present invention, a tractor-like vehicle is operably coupled with an ordinary railroad car by means of a rail travelling intermediate vehicle having conventional railroad-type coupling means on one end thereof and tractor-type coupling means on the opposite end thereof for respectively coupling with the railroad car's coupling means and a conventional three point hitch of the tractor vehicle. The tractor is provided with conventional power operated, forwardly extending, boom apparatus of the well known type to which, in this invention there is attached structure for mounting thereon a pair of tractor supporting rail wheels and a compressed air supply for control of the railroad cars' braking system. Both the three point hitch and the boom apparatus may be selectively energized to elevationally retract the front and rear rail wheels respectively associated with the mentioned mounting structure and the intermediate vehicle to allow the tractor vehicle to leave the rails and travel over the ground from one set of rails to another.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a particularly economical and effective means for moving a number of railroad cars short distances along the rails, especially for the purposes of loading, switching, and spotting of the cars.
Another object of the invention is to provide unique apparatus for operably intercoupling a rail draft vehicle with a number of railroad cars for movement of the latter along the rails, wherein there is provided means for controlling the air braking system of the railroad cars to be moved, thus allowing safe, reliable transport of the railroad cars.
A further object of the invention is to provide a rail-draft vehicle of the mentioned type wherein the rail engaging wheels thereof are substantially longitudinally spaced apart, in order to provide long wheelbase mounting of the rail-draft vehicle whereby to provide highly stable operation thereof along the rails.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rail-draft vehicle of the mentioned type employing a tractor or like vehicle having conventional, forwardly extending, boom apparatus mounted thereon provided with a pair of spaced apart, swingable supporting arm members which may be selectively manipulated by a tractor operator, wherein rail wheel means are operably coupled to the support arms in a manner to allow a pair of rail wheels to be selectively shifted into and out of engagement of the rails.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rail-draft vehicle of the mentioned type wherein intermediate vehicle means having a pair of rail wheels mounted thereon is operably coupled between the draft vehicle and a conventional railroad car to be moved and functions to guide and at least partially support one extremity of the rail-draft vehicle on the rails.
Other and further objects of the invention will be made clear or become apparant in the course of the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.